Beer-cooler.



Patented Oct. I6, |900. J. A. SANDELL.

BEER COOLER.

(Application led Sept. 14, 1899.)

(No Model.)

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOI-IN A. SANDELL, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

BEER-COOLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 659.700, dated October 16, 1900.

Application filed September 14, 1899.. Serial No. 730.400. (No model.)

of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Beer-Coolers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to .which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to beer-coolers or cool- `ing` apparatus, and has for its object to improve the same in the several particulars hereinafter noted.

To such ends my invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure lis a vertical section, some parts being shown in full, illustrating my improved cooling device as applied in working position to an ordinary beer-dispensing device. Fig. 2 is an enlarged View in Vertical Section,show ing a portion of my improved cooling device or attachment; and Fig. 3 is a plan View of a cap or plug through which the dispensing tubes run into the bottom of the cooling column or stack.

The numeral l indicates a portion of an ordinary refrigerator provided With an ice rack or shelf 2 on which a cake of ice ,z is shown as supported.

The numeral 3 indicates a portion of the bar or counter, the same being provided on its inner edge or side with a Water-tight ice box or receptacle 4, to the inner side of which in the construction illustrated a drip-trough 5 is secured. A Waste-pipe 6 opens from the bottom of the ice-box 4 and a Waste-pipe 7 opens from the bottom of the trough 5, both of said waste-pipes .being run to suitable points of discharge.

The numeral 8 indicates a dispensing tube or pipe which runs from a beer. barrel or keg located within the refrigerator 1 vertically upward into and through the ice-box 4, the same being turned at its upper end and connected to a dispensing-faucet 10,Which is supported from the inner portion of the counter 3 and stands in position to discharge the drippings into the catch-trough 5.

rlhe characters e' and ,e2 indicate, respectively, ice and water contained Within the icebox 4.

It will. of course be understood that the refrigerator l will stand below the iioor which supports the counter 3, and that the beer within the barrel or keg 9 is put under pressure to flow upward through the dispensingtube 8 by an air-pump or some other suitable device not necessary for the purposes of this case to consider in detail, as such means are well understood.

In theapplication of my improved cooling device a vertical column or stack tt surrounds the dispensing-tube 8, this column being eX- tended from a point within the refrigerator l to a point well up Within the ice-box 4. Of course this column or stack a might be more or less extended than is indicated in the drawings, but it is preferably extended as just noted. In the application of the said column or stack the tempering tube or tubes will be passed through the same after it has been placed in working position. Preferably the said column or stack is formedin sections, the said sections being.r connected with a Watertight joint by means of a coupling a', which works loosely on a flanged collar a2 on one of the sections, and has screw-threaded engagement with a collar d3 on the adjacent end of the other section of said column et. Preferably a gasket or packing d4 is clamped between the collars o? and a3. rlhe upper end of the column or stack ct terminates below the level of the column of water z2 Within the ice-box 4, while the lower end ot' the same is closed by a cap or plugb. The dispensing-tubes 8 are passed through this cap or plug b, and, as shown, provision is made wherebyv four of these dispensing tubes may be passed therethrough and Water-tight joints formed therewith. To form these water-tight joints, screW- threaded recesses or counterbores b are formed in the bottom or'under surface of the said cap b, the same being in axial position, one with one of each of the perforations b2, through which the said tubes 8 are to be passed. In each screw-threaded seat b a perforated plug-nut h4, through which one of the IOO tubes 8 may be passed, is adapted to work. A compressible packing-ringe, which is preferably of rubber, is placed around each tube 8 and is compressed between the corresponding uut b4 and the shoulder of the adjacent seat b. With this construction it is not necessary that a tight or close joint be formed between the pipe 8 and the passages through the nuts b4 and the head or block b, for by tightening the said nut the packing-ring c may be compressed and flattened out, so that it will form a very tight and close joint between the said pipe 8 and the said nut b4 and head b. To enable the plug-nuts h4 to be readily turned,they are provided with grooves b5, with which a properly-formed tool may be engaged. Such of the passages b2,throug`h the cap b, as do not have the pipes 8 pass through them may be closed by means of bungs d or other suitable means. In the illustration given only one dispensing tube or pipe 8 is shown; but it will of course be understood that any number up to the limit provided for in the cap b may be employed, in which case the said tubes would each have a dispensing-faucet and would be connected with the different sources of supply. As the ice melts the overflow is carried off from the bottom of the cooling column or stack a by means of a Siphon-like overflow or waste pipe f, the lower end of which terminates close to the bottom of the said column or stack a, the main portion of which extends vertically upward through said column, while its downturned-discharge end is connected by means of a coupling f or other suitable device with the upper end of the waste-pipe 6. At the top of its bowed portion the overflow-pipe f is provided with a perforated nipple f2, which affords air-vent for a purpose which will presently appear.

`It will be noted that the coupling f is in this preferred construction adapted to detachably telescope into the upper end of the waste-pipe 6 and to form a close joint therewith under the weight of the overow-pipef. This makes the overiow-pipe f readily detachable or removable, so that it may be removed out of the way when it is desired to clean out the ice-box 4.

Operation: It is a well-known fact that the law of the flow of liquids under the action of convection at temperatures above 39 Fahrenheit reverses itself when the temperature of the water falls below 39 Fahrenheit. Otherwise, briefly stated, the temperature of a body of water containing melting ice will remain below 39 Fahrenheit, and the warmer portions of the water will flow downward or, in this particular instance, to the bottom of the column or stack a. As the water reaches a level above the level indicated in Fig. 1 it will overflow the upper bowed Aportion of the overtlowpipe f and will run from thence downward and be carried off by the wastepipe 6. the uipplef2 prevents the overflow from drawing Water upward through the receiving end of the overllow-pipef, and thus prevents the starting of a siphon action, which, if permitted, would empty the ice-box 4 of water. With the arrangement described the water escapes through the overflow-pipe f as fast as the ice melts, and in this manner a con-` tinuous circulation of cold water is kept up through the column or stack a. The cold waterin the column a will of course be constantly heated by the relatively-warm dispensing-tubes 8, and as the water is thus heated its tendency to [low to the bottom of the column is increased, so that a good forced circulation is thereby `further insured.

From the foregoing description and statements made it will be understood that my invent-ion is capable of considerable modification. It will of course be further understood that this so-called beer-cooler or cooling apparatus is capable of use for cooling or tempering various drinks or liquids other than beer-such, for example, as soda-water.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theiUnited States, is as follows:

1. The combination with one or more dispensing-tubes, 0E a cooling vessel adapted to contain the water or cooling medium through which said dispensing-tube is passed, and a Siphon-like overflow-pipe extended from a point at or near the bottom of said vessel, first upward to determine the level of the water, and then downward to a suitable point ot discharge, the said overflow-pipe being provided at its upper bowed portion with a vent or air hole that is normally left open, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the ice-box 4, of the cooling colu mn or stack @depending there- The vent-opening or air-passage in- IOO from, the Siphon-like overilow-pipe f, ex-

tended from at or near the bottom of said column upward through the same and then downward to a suitable point of discharge, said overflow-pipe f having the normallyopen vent f2 at its upper portion, and one or more dispensing-tubes 8 passed longitudi nally through said column a, substantially as described. i,

JOHN A. SANDELL.

Witnesses:

MABEL M. MCGRoRY, F. D. MERCHANT.

IIO 

